bridge for flat top mando

[joshro78]

It's a cigar box mando to be more specific. I am going to make a maple bridge for this mando and was wondering what height I should start my bridge blank. Should I just guess and aim a little high or is there a general starting point for flat top mandos? I would appreciate any thoughts on the design of the bridge also, as I have never made a bridge for a flat top before.
Thanks
Josh

[labraid]

Howdy Josh!
Flat-top bridges... Stay away from making one piece ones if you can, flat tops will "give" over time unless there is a built-in curve to the braces (arched). Since there's no picture I can't be more specific, but adjustable bridges are always best if ye can. Second, and this is only if you're making a one piece bridge, aim high. As the top will sink a bit in the first few weeks under this new string pressure (this is unavoidable unless you build engineering marvels for brace structures, and then you'll probably have a pretty dead sound anyway, so...), you may even want to just string it up with a cheapo bridge to let it settle for a few weeks. Then when everything is at equilibrium, measure the string height while still strung up and make the bridge to fit that and all should be good to go.
Take care,
Brian

[grsnovi]

Josh - the height of your bridge is going to be determined by the angle of the neck relative to the top. If you are building from scratch hopefully this was figured into things. To have enough space for an adjustable bridge your neck will need to angle back away from your top. My old Style 4 Vega mandolin certainly could not sport any of the commercially offered adjustable bridges but as Brian says, if you have the room, adjustable is certainly the way to go.

That said, my Peterson 'zouk has plenty of room but was built with a single piece bridge.

Brian - just visited your web site, those are sure some pretty instruments! Have you ever done any carved top/back instruments or only flats?

[labraid]

Hi Gary, haven't had the occasion to go arched yet. I fell in love with the sound of the flats many years ago and have stuck with them ever since, negociating the right sound out of em. Maybe I'll go arched one day if I can do the same with them, but as of yet they haven't tickled my eardrums.. That mandola in the bfolk.com gallery has a bridge height of 10mm, the angle of the neck was low, string pressure was therefore also relatively low, so the bridge didn't require much meat. Worked quite nicely, but couldn't imagine going lower... Special request for that one, have changed building style (neck angle specifically) since.

-Brian

[joshro78]

Thanks for your help. I got it figured out. I just made a one piece maple bridge. Works great.